The Undead Are Undaunted and UnrulyBy ALESSANDRA STANLEYThe one good thing about the walking dead is that they don’t drive.

All it really takes to outrun a zombie is a car. Also, a bullet to the head will stop one cold. And that may explain why so many men prefer zombies to vampires: zombie stories pivot on men’s two favorite things: fast cars and guns. Better yet, zombies almost never talk. Vampires, especially of late, are mostly a female obsession. Works like “Twilight” and “True Blood” suggest that the best way to defeat a vampire is to make him fall so in love that he resists the urge to bite. And that’s a powerful, if naïve, female fantasy: a mate so besotted he gives up his most primal cravings for the woman he loves.

Vampires are imbued with romance. Zombies are not. (Zombies are from Mars, vampires are from Venus.)

Zombie movies didn’t die off, but they were overshadowed by vampire mania that has dominated popular culture in a nonstop streak from Anne Rice’s book “Interview With the Vampire” to “The Vampire Diaries” on CW. Finally, perhaps as a backlash against all the girlish, gothic swooning over “Twilight,” zombies are making a comeback.

A new series that begins on AMC on Sunday is one of the most vivid examples of the revival. “The Walking Dead” is based on Robert Kirkman’s popular graphic novels. And the television adaptation is surprisingly scary and remarkably good, a show that visually echoes the stylized comic-book aesthetic of the original and combines elegant suspense with gratifyingly crude and gruesome slasher-film gore.

The zombies in “The Walking Dead” are true to the genre, and so is its hero, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), a Southern sheriff’s deputy and a man of few words and many firearms. Yet amid all the carnage and oozing close-ups of cannibalism, “The Walking Dead” does make room for several complicated relationships and at least one love triangle.

Romance is not forbidden in zombie circles of course. Long before the fad of Jane Austen mash-ups like “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” the 1943 classic “I Walked With a Zombie” drew its story line from Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre.”

But vampire stories mostly focus on the relationship between the undead and the living, usually with lots of overwrought dialogue, erotic subtext and decadently lush scenery. Zombies don’t as a rule socialize with their prey. It’s the group dynamic among survivors that provides the drama. Conflicts matter more than courtship, and the characters spend most of their time barricaded behind bolted doors and boarded windows. There is little occasion for conversation, let alone changing into evening attire.

“The Walking Dead” follows in the tradition of the 1968 cult film by George A. Romero, “Night of the Living Dead,” which is to say that “The Walking Dead” is a straight tale of horror, not a tongue-in-cheek takeoff like the 2009 movie “Zombieland” or “Dead Set,” a British series that began on IFC this week, about contestants on a “Big Brother”-like show who are the last to learn that zombies are destroying the world.

One oddity of the genre, and perhaps its appeal, is how orthodox it is. For all the many sequels, remakes and parodies, zombies stick pretty closely to the original flesh-eating model: They don’t have personalities, they lurch, and they are always hungry for human flesh. Sometimes the predators are from outer space, but more commonly zombies are spawned by a man-made armageddon. (Variations are usually minor, as with the light-sensitive zombies in the Will Smith movie “I Am Legend.”)

The exact cause of this zombie apocalypse is left unclear. While on duty one day Rick is shot and winds up in the hospital. Like the hero of the 2002 movie “28 Days Later,” Rick wakes up from a coma to find the hospital deserted and zombies scavenging across his empty and denuded town. The sheriff’s station is abandoned, and he can’t find his partner, Shane (Jon Bernthal). Rick staggers home to discover that his wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), and son, Carl (Chandler Riggs), have vanished. Rick sets out for Atlanta, hoping his family is waiting for him there.

He eventually joins forces with a group of survivors trapped in an abandoned city overrun by zombies; aerial shots pull back high above the streets to reveal what looks like swarming armies of cockroaches. And he quickly learns that while the undead are a formidable — and disgusting — external threat, he also has enemies among the living.

“The Walking Dead” is not for everyone, obviously, but it is well made: a hard-core zombie story that even vampire lovers can watch.

For those of you that like the AMC walking dead series, there's also another zombie series starting on IFC called "Dead Set" - I can't comment cause I haven't seen either of them, but I thought ya'll would be interested!

It airs on AMC. You might be able to find it online somewhere now that the first episode has aired.

The Walking Dead‘ is at last among us, now that AMC has premiered its creepy-good new action-drama series. And boy, did those skin-sloughers get a warm welcome.

The ‘Dead’ drew a fantastically lively audience of 5.3 million total viewers, setting an all-time record for any AMC premiere and representing the most-watched season opener of any cable series so far this year, THR reports.

It’s a bold move by Darabont, who co-wrote/rewrote all six episodes of season one. It’s also a move that could cause major issues with the powers that be in the Writers Guild. The only current U.S. series that employs the freelance writer model is ‘Torchwood,’ which has the loophole advantage of being produced by the BBC.

‘The Walking Dead’ Ratings Soar To Season High

The 13-episode second season of ‘The Walking Dead’ is slated to resume in October 2011. The first season finale airs this Sunday (Dec. 4) at 10/9c on AMC.

Do you think Darabont could be screwing the pooch on this one? Let us know!

The Walking Dead Gets 90 Minute Premiere; Big Changes Made To Schedule! It has today been revealed that the season premiere of The Walking Dead will be a 90 minute special, but this comes alongside some disappointing news about how AMC will structure the 12 episodes! Hit the jump for details...

After the huge success of the first season of The Walking Dead, AMC took the decision to offer viewers a lengthier experience this time around, with an extra six episodes added to the shows schedule. (making a total of 12) However, The Hollywood Reporter now reveal the somewhat disappointing news that the network will in fact be splitting the season in two, with six episodes airing from October 16th, and picking up again on February 12th, 2012.

The good news? The first episode will be a 90 minute extravaganza! Stay tuned for more news on season two of The Walking Dead as and when we have it!

Rescue Me's Michael Zegen Joins The Walking Dead Season 2 The ex Rescue Me Firefighter will join the second season of AMC's awesome Zombie drama series as a new character not featured in the comic books.. Michael Zegen will join the Zombie fodder for the second season of AMC's The Walking Dead He will play a character called Randall, another new addition not from the comic.

Here is all we know about Randall courtesy of EW..

"..a skinny Southern kid who finds himself in a rather unique set of post-apocalypse circumstances. Beyond that, producers are staying mum on the role."

Apparently it is a recurring role but I wouldn't expect him to stay off a Zombie's dinner plate for too long.

New Promo For The Walking Dead Season 2 Hits! With only a few weeks to the season premire, new promo videos for the season just won't stop coming, check this new one with a pretty cool narration by Rick Grimes.

NYCC'11: First Five Minutes Of The Walking Dead Season 2 Premiere! Last night at NYCC the Walking Dead panel revealed the first five minutes of tonight's season premiere. Check out the footage after the jump.

The first 5-minutes of the season premiere was screened at New York Comic Con last night, and now it's online for you to check out.

Christina Hendricks Approached The Walking Dead's Greg Nicotero About Being A Zombie AMC's hit television show The Walking Dead is off an running this season, and it seems like more and more celebrities are throwing their name in the ring to cameo as zombies. Well put another name on that list, Christina Hendricks.

There have been a multitude of celebrities who have wanted to appear on AMC's hit TV series The Walking Dead. Well you can add one more name to the growing list. Christina Hendricks, of Mad Men fame, approached Executive Producer Greg Nicotero about the possibility of becoming zombie for the show at this years Golden Globes. Nicotero said to What’s On TV, “I went to the Golden Globes when Walking Dead was nominated and three of the actresses from Mad Men came over and said, ‘We want to be zombies’ and I’m looking at Christina Hendricks and going, ‘No, God, how are we gong to do this?’ So I just introduced them to Norman Reedus to distract them from the idea.”

While the idea of playing a Walker might appeal to some people Nicotero says it really not that glamorous, “The idea of being a zombie is great, but then you come down and you sit in the make-up chair and it’s hot and it’s sweaty." He has even had to talk his his dad out of a role, “My dad who is 75 years old wanted to come down. I had to talk him out of it too!”

Actor Michael Rooker On The Return of Merle On The Walking Dead And Call Of Duty: Black Ops Michael Rooker, "I'm a zombie killing machine, baby!" Yeah, this guy's awesome.

Source: LA Times HeroComplex

As recounted by Susan Karlin of the LA Times HeroComplex, Michael Rooker attended the recent Aliens to Zombie convention in Hollywood carrying a large box of life-sized prosthetic severed hands that he planned to dole out as souvenirs.

“Thirty years honing my craft, and it’s come to this,” he joked.

Of course, all the fans of the hit AMC drama The Walking Dead know what those mementos represent. After a long absence, Rooker looks to make his return on the show this coming Sunday and we can only hope he brings the same mix of humor, bigotry, and badassness that made Merle an instant fan favorite during Season One.

“Nobody expected this level of Merle worship,” said Rooker with a laugh. “He’s such an out-there, crazy, anything goes kind of guy. There’s an uncertainty about Merle – like he’ll come back when you least expect it. He’s the boogeyman, and viewers love that suspense. The number one question I’m asked is, `When is your character coming back?’ I can’t say when, but I promise it’ll be a wild ride.

“The comic, zombie and gaming fans are a hoot – and they’re really into the plot twists,” he added. “They’re constantly throwing out these theories about Merle secretly stalking the group in the woods or luring zombies to their original camp.”

“I’ve gotten more heat from the anticipation of my coming back to the show than any other thing I’ve done,” Rooker said. “Because of that, I found a whole new group of fans, and the gaming company would never have contacted me if it wasn’t for that.”

One of those things Rooker has been able to branch out and do is voice-acting. Apparently, you'll be hearing Mr. Rooker's voice at some point during Call of Duty:Black Ops.

only 2 episodes left....I'm kinda disappointed with the show to be honest. The pace of season 2 has slowed down dramatically. The storyline of the missing girl is dull and drawn out. There's no real tension and the acting isn't great across the board, certainly not strong enough to warrant "character building" episodes with very little action.

Still an enjoyable show but it's dropped in quality since the first season.